Pretoria - The ANC in Limpopo has again reiterated its support for President Cyril Ramaphosa to retain his second term as party leader, despite a fierce rebuke from former party leader Thabo Mbeki earlier this year.
Not only is Ramaphosa its preferred choice, the ANC provincial leaders have also nominated the party’s treasury-general Paul Mashatile to deputise him.
The call for the two senior party positions for Ramaphosa and Mashatile came amid a unanimous call for equal gender representation in the ANC’s top six during the party’s national policy conference in Nasrec last month.
But all three ANC Limpopo nominees for top six positions are male, including the name of provincial chairperson Chupu Stan Mathabatha.
Mathabatha is punted to be the next ANC national chairperson to replace Gwede Mantashe at the elective conference in Nasrec in December.
Provincial secretary Reuben Madadzhe confirmed the decision of the Limpopo PEC, saying support for Ramaphosa for a second term as ANC president was because : he was the best candidate to lead the renewal programme”.
The announcement came as the ANC officially from today allows its branches to nominate candidates for the top six and the 80 members of the national executive committee.
The ANC in the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga have already pronounced Ramaphosa for a second term, while the North West provincial leadership looks also set to support Ramaphosa and Mashatile as deputy.
ANC branches in the Western Cape and Free State have not made any pronouncements while KwaZulu-Natal is expected to name a contender to Ramaphosa for presidency.
Pretoria News